EC's voter reshuffle betrays racial dominance, says Gerakan Youth deputy

The Election Commission's redelineation exercise has been slammed for prioritising racial dominance instead of ensuring a balanced inter-racial mix.

Gerakan deputy Youth chief Andy Yong told Malaysiakini the proposed changes to the existing constituencies "would likely be detrimental to Gerakan" and that the party may take action.

"The proposal also reflects (how) the election (process) now has torn apart any remaining fiction about interethnic harmony in Malaysia.

"The redelineation is supposed to look at the composition of ethnic Malay, Indian, and Chinese, in short representing all Malaysians, instead of the domination of a single race," Yong said.

"Peninsular Malaysia will now have a situation in which ethnic Malays dominate the ruling party, and minorities, including the Chinese, have almost completely gone to the opposition.

"It's not a recipe for inter-ethnic harmony," he said.

He however admitted it is inevitable that some constituencies are dominated by a single race.

Yong said Gerakan is studying the implications of the redelineation "seriously" and is likely to file its objections, if any, in due course.

Opposition claims prejudice against it

The EC's proposal to redraw the electoral boundaries, announced on Thursday, has elicited a chorus of indignation from various opposition leaders for being prejudicial against them in a number of constituencies.

For example, DAP highlighted how the moving of a polling district comprising mainly police officers into Lembah Pantai would likely lead to the defeat of incumbent MP Nurul Izzah Anwar.

Sri Andalas assemblyperson Dr Xavier Jeyakumar of PKR claimed the new boundaries would turn seats of mixed racial composition in Selangor into Malay-dominant seats.

Even former Umno deputy president and current Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia president Muhyiddin Yassin's constituency has been affected, with the proposed 22.24 percent decrease of voters claimed to be disadvantageous to the rebel leader.

Other issues with the exercise include the age-old complaint of unbalanced representation between urban seats and rural ones, with the rural constituencies seen as Umno's traditional strongholds.

"Though no extra seats are to be created in the recent recommendation of the redelineation by the EC, it can't be fait accompli," Yong said.

This, he added, compounds Gerakan's problems as the party's support is concentrated in the urban areas. - Mkini